Farmer, consumer outcry helping to stop passage of draconian 'food safety' bill

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: Senate Bill 510, Food Safety, health news

(NaturalNews) Advocates of Senate Bill 510 (S.510) -- also known as the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act -- are lamenting the delayed passage of the sweeping legislation that many say threatens American food freedom. According to reports, opposition from the public, local farmers and some members of Congress could delay a vote on the bill until November -- and may even kill it completely.

According to a recent New York Times article in obvious favor of the legislation, the Senate calendar is filled with a multitude of other bills that need to be voted on before members leave for the campaign trail in October. But since not all members are in favor of the legislation, advocates are straining to find ways to get it passed.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) opposed the bill because he believes the increased FDA authority over food granted by the bill would not necessarily improve food safety. And Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) says the bill gives the federal government too much power over small farms and facilities, and that local authorities are better suited to enforce existing food safety laws.

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) recently criticized Coburn for opposing the bill, accusing him of playing "politics" and emphasizing that in light of the recent Iowa egg recall, it is "unconscionable" to oppose the legislation.

But it is now becoming widely believed that the recall was designed to scare the public into accepting S.510. Many say the panic and frenzy fueled by the media over the recall do not warrant the passage of a bill that potentially eliminates American sovereignty over its own food.

Significant grassroots opposition efforts have also helped stall the bill, at the behest of some of its most avid supporters. Linda Cohen-Cole, a small farm advocate from Atlanta, is cited in the New York Times as saying the bill is "a fascist takeover of the entire food supply."

You can read the proposed bill for yourself at:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bil...

Sources for this story include:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/health/pol...